"Over the past few years, Star Alliance has brought down some of its membership requirements and Air India has done a lot of work to fulfill those requirements," said Schwab, who was in India to check on the progress made by Air India. "I think by this summer the work should be complete. We have identified some requirements. For example, the airline's staff needs to be trained to Star Alliance standards and that will take some time."

According to Air India officials, about 8,000 of Air India's ground and cabin staff will be retrained over the course of the coming months. Apart from training, once the airline's membership is confirmed, Air India will also need to repaint its planes to have the Star Alliance logo displayed prominently. Air India has for a year been trying to join the alliance as it will allow the airline to improve its brand image and give a wider reach through sharing flights with other airlines in the group, at a time when the national carrier is trying to turn around its loss-making operations.

In 2011, Star Alliance had rejected the airline's membership for failing to meet some requirements. Air India "has done significant work" since then, Schwab said. The airline anyway had to carry out some of the work that it has now expedited for joining the alliance, said Air India chairman Rohit Nandan. "Upgrading the IT systems, for example, was pending for a long time. Similarly, improving our customer service is very important as there is always room for improvement," Nandan said. "Joining Star Alliance now gives us a deadline to complete all such works." While there are no specific requirements for alliance members to have codeshares, Nandan said Air India will try to sign codeshare agreements with some of the Star Alliance members.

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National carrier Air India is set to complete all the work required to become the first Indian member of a global airline alliance by this summer. Mark Schwab, chief executive of the 28-member Star Alliance , said the airline's joining process was on track.